By Louise | Managing Director
One of the things I love about the work we do is that the kids in particular are so open to new and different experiences, I love seeing the A HA! Moments on the children’s faces. I love it when we push them to the end of themselves and they come to the party and excel even their own expectations. I love watching the sense of achievement and pride which travels across their faces in the huge smiles they exhibit.
All of this happens in the mud, in the cold, in the extremes, and yet the kids are already planning for 2026’s Camporee attendance! These kids overwhelm me with their passion and their readiness to learn and experience more. For some of these children, they have never been to Tzaneen, just a short 20minute taxi ride away from home, still we have children that have never seen a traffic light, an escalator, a mall, its all too beyond their understand, then to come to camp! The experience is just mind blowing.
Camping gives them a different world view, new friends, new challenges, new activities, new food. They are exposed to nature in a new way, they see baboons, porcupine, bush pig and buck, (fortunately no hippo’s this time away), up close. They gain a new appreciation for nature and become ardent protectors.
Going away from home also breaks them out of their routines, takes them away from the pressures and stresses of village life, shebeen’s (bars), bully’s, boredom, stealing and muggings, sick and dependent family members and allows the children to be children. The children become changed, they become a bit bigger than the children who came on the first day, they are stronger, more resilient, more capable, more adventurous, just more generally.
You have blessed these kids through your support but also you have blessed us as KTD196 staff. We love seeing the changes in the children, the confidence it brings, the multitude of smiles despite their home circumstances. You empower us as well, going to camp is exhausting but refreshing at the same time. It refocuses us on what is important, the children, often we can get weighed down by reports, budgets, paperwork etc, but camp is great for our souls as well. Thank you so much for your gifts, we max out every last cent, I promise you.
I hope you are as blessed as we feel after the Camporee! Please take the time to click on the link below to the Gallery where so many of the photos have been uploaded.
With Gratitude
Louise
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